A History of Human Civilization

Jeff Feasel17 Feb 2006

What we’ll learn

• Brief overview of human history.• What does the archeological record

show?• Discuss which factors contributed to

human civilization.

When Did Human History Happen?

[See Timeline]

• 200,000 BC: Split from all other Homonid species

• 100,000 BC: Anatomically Modern Humans• as shown by fossil bones

• 50,000 BC: Cro-Magnons (“Mentally Modern”)

• as shown by archaeology

• 8,000 BC: First signs of settled life• 4,000 BC: Written record begins

Ice Core Sample

Early Migration of Humans

Early Migration of Humans[See Migration Map]

• Long before the last Ice Age, people were already spread out through most of Eurasia, Africa, and Australia.

• Lived as hunter gatherers.• No evidence of farming/herding

before Holocene.

Arriving in The New World

• “Clovis” people– Broke from Mongoloid population living in

Siberia.– Already adapted to arctic conditions

• Entered North/South America via land-bridge on Bering Strait.

• Exact timing is known because of “airlock” effect.

• Tremendous boom! Spread from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego in less than 1000 years.– Mass extinction of large land mammals

The Pace of Civilization

• 10,000 BC: End of last Ice Age• Humans had reached every habitable area.• Everyone has roughly the same lifestyle:

hunter-gatherer.

• 1400-1600 AD: European Expansion• Guns vs. Spears

• Why did civilization proceed so much faster in some parts of the world than in others?

• And what does this tell us about civilization?

Who Had What, and Why?• Mesopotamia• Egypt• Indus River• China• Mesoamerica• Andes• hunter-gatherers:

– Southern Africa– Australia / New Guinea– Northern / Western Europe– North Asia

[See tables: Earliest Domestication of Animals/Plants]

Natural Resource: Animals[Table of Domesticated Animals]• Uses??

– food, clothing, hunting, transportation, traction• [Necessary for domestication:]

– Pack behavior – dominance heirarchy– Able to live in dense groups– Willing to breed in captivity– Usually herbivorous– Usually relatively large (>50 lbs) (often the same animals you’d

hunt)• [No new animals domesticated until after the Industrial

Revolution.]• Compare New World to Old World.• Why such an imbalance of useful domesticatable animals

available? – Luck-of-the-Draw or Mass Extinction– Why weren’t Old World animals hunted to extinction?

Earliest Domestication of AnimalsDog >15,000

BCNear-East? China?

Sheep 8,000 BC Near-East

Goat 8,000 BC Near-East

Pig 8,000 BC China, Near-East

Silkworm 7,500 BC China

Cow 6,000 BC Near-East, India

Cat 6,000 BC Egypt

Horse 4,000 BC Ukraine

Donkey 4,000 BC Egypt

Water buffalo

4,000 BC China

Turkey 3,500 BC Mesoamerica

Llama/Alpaca

3,500 BC Andes

Guinea Pig 3,500 BC Andes

Camel 2,500 BC Central Asia, Arabia

Chicken 1,000 BC Pacific Asia

Natural Resource: Plants[Table of Domesticated Plants]• Grains and legumes form most of the human diet.

• (70% of calories come from cereal)• [Necessary for domestication:]

– Fast-maturing– Large-enough seeds or fruits– Storable

• Not quite as imbalanced as animals, but still...• Compare New World to Old World• Why did some areas take to farming more than others?

– Climatic advantage.• Incoming solar energy gradient.

– What are the “sweet-spots”?• Band near, but not on, Equator.• Which are suitable for GRASSES to grow?

Earliest Domestication of Plants

Area Cereals/Grasses Legumes Tubers

Near-East Wheat, Barley Pea, Lentil, Chickpea —

West Africa Sorghum, Millet, Rice

Cowpea, Groundnut Yam

India [Wheat, Barley, Rice, Sorghum, Millet]

Hyacinth bean, Black gram, Green gram

—

Ethiopia Teff, Millet, [Wheat, Barley]

[Pea, Lentil] —

China Millet, Rice Soybean, Adzuki bean, Mung bean

—

Mesoamerica

Corn Common bean, Tepary bean, Scarlet runner bean

Jicama

Andes Quinoa, [Corn] Common bean, Lima bean, Peanut

Potato, Sweet Potato

Mississippi Valley

Maygrass, Barley, Knotweed, Goosefoot

— Artichoke[Bracketed crops were borrowed from other cultures]

The Effects of Geography

• Climate• Migration of people.• Diffusion (or stimulus diffusion) of

domesticated plants/animals and technology.

So, what happened to the Native Americans when the

Europeans came?

Putting it all together

•What is Civilization?

•What factors allow it to happen?

Factors– Climate– Geographical location– Available domesticatable species

– Food production (animals, plants) Surplus– Sedentary Lifestyle– Specialization– Increased Population Density– Germs & Immunity– Infrastructure

– Exchange of ideas• within culture• across culture

Recommended Reading

• Cook, Michael. (2005) A Brief History of the Human Race. W. W. Norton and Company, New York.

• Diamond, Jared. (1997) Guns, Germs, and Steel. W. W. Norton and Company, New York.

• Diamond, Jared. (1992) The Third Chimpanzee. HarperCollins Publishers, New York.